Friday, January 30, 2015

Finally I feel as if I've made some real progress with my Ocean Wave quilt.

a photo from 2011!

There are four different blocks in this quilt and I have completed all I need for three of them. Phew!

It is unlikely I will have the top finished by Saturday. (my goal was to have it done by the end of the month.) I do believe I will have it finished very soon though...it has only been 5 or 6 years in the making so what is the rush, no?!

Watson on my inspiration quilt....

I have three antique Ocean waves in my collection.

This first one is circa 1920. The apricot is a sateen fabric. The pieces are very small (hst's are just over an inch!) I bought it in Pennsylvania in the early 90's at an outdoor antique show. It is hand pieced and hand quilted.

The second one I picked up at the American Quilt Seminar in Charleston two years ago.

I love the red. It is circa 1880. There is a lot of earlier fabric in it so it is fun to study. (The hst's in this are 1-3/4 inches)

It is hand-pieced and hand quilted.

And finally this wonky circa 1910 with large half square triangles. This is the first OW I collected.

It came from western Maryland. If you like shirtings in a quilt then you would like this!

This is the one that started my Ocean Wave journey!

And while I was rummaging through quilt photos I found the inspiration block for my Richmond quilt in the previous post!

One the quilt studio front...still no word back from our Homeowners Association. Not sure what we will do if they don't approve it the extension.

Thursday, January 29, 2015

This is sort of a throwback Thursday as I'm going to write about a quilt I made almost six years ago!

It is the quilt I am carrying in the sidebar photo. There were multiple inspirations for this quilt. First, I had a vintage block tacked to my design wall. It was maybe from the 1940's and I'd wanted to try it out for a long time. The block goes under many names: Richmond, Pinwheel and Lucy's four and nine are just a few. (since I used civil war fabrics I used the Richmond name!) Second, I had a stack of reproduction fabrics, some only slightly larger than scraps, that I wanted to use. Third, I was trying to put together some workshop quilts.

With ribbon at a local show in 2011.

It did meet the first and second goals. The third...not so much. I made the mistake of trying to stay too true to the vintage block so ended up with slightly bizarre measurements for the pieces. (note to self...there is a reason some blocks become orphan....)

What do I mean by that? To start with this is a 9 patch...so why do they finish at 10 inches?! Who finishes a patch at 3-1/3 inches! There is no good markings on a ruler for 1/3's of an inch. I know...I marked one on mine using a wax pencil...

When I taught a workshop on this quilt I ended up redrafting the entire thing to make 12 inch finished blocks...which are easier. The quilters were happy but I was exhausted...the quilt went back onto the shelf. Then one of you asked about it...so....

Each block has a different set of fabrics so it emphasized my favorite part of quilting - playing with fabrics. It also gave me permission to cut into some fabrics I had been holding onto for the "perfect" quilt. Except for the sashing and borders not a whole lot of any one fabric was used.

Also, I used a stack of extra fabrics left over from other projects for the cornerstones. A lesson learned here is how quickly cheddar and pink can take over a quilt! Had to be careful with placement of these.

The blue for the interior sashing is all the same fabric (which of coarse I ran out of) while the exterior sashing uses three different "striped" blues. These all finish at 1-3/4 inches wide.

Also, I wish I hadn't hurried and given this to someone else to quilt. After being so "strict" with myself on matching the block and picking period fabrics the quilting just doesn't look right. My bad for not communicating better with the quilter. Another lesson learned.

There are many block program that have this block in them. Just try the various names! My color placement is a bit different than the blocks but not tough to figure out. This could be a fun block to do in solids...maybe the Cherrywoods! Or maybe 30's fabrics...which would get it so much closer to the original inspiration block!

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

I've been watching the snow storm coverage for the past couple days and in an odd way I miss snow!

storm of 2007...

I grew up in Boston and remember the big storm on the late 70's. This isn't quite that but a big one none-the-less. One of my favorite towns, Scituate, has had bad coastal flooding.

Scituate Lighthouse 2012

So in sympathy I am spending the day quilting (that is my excuse and I'm sticking to it!) Yesterday I made a big pot of stew, some cheese sticks, and brownies. If it did snow here in Georgia we'd be ready!

Scituate, winter 2007

Carline left a comment asking what the quilt pattern is on the postcard in my last post. Since her comment is a "no reply/no comment" I'll answer it here...the pattern is Pineapple Blossom by Bonnie Hunter.

B. Bredland, Christmas Pineapple, October 2013

It is a free pattern on her website, Quiltville.com The quilt was made by Barbara Breland and won a ribbon from the local Art Association at our 2013 show. (Bonnie ok'd our using the image on the postcard.)

Today I will work on my Ocean waves quilt and perhaps catch on on Downton Abbey while doing some hand quilting on my Charleston Baskets...

Sunday, January 25, 2015

I feel as if I've been living one of those "Love it or List it" episodes! My husband and I agree I need more room for my sewing studio but couldn't quite figure out how to make that happen.

Brownie on a house quilt-top - shows need for a full size design wall!

We spent weeks looking at houses. There always seemed to be something not right - a flooded yard, too many stairs, not enough windows, too close to the main road...the list seems endless! What finally got us to change tracks was when we entered a house and we both agreed it could work (the bonus room was already a quilting room so no imagination needed to think how it would work for me!) Then as we stood in the kitchen it hit us...it was the exact same layout as our current house but with an additional sewing room!

So we had a contractor come by last week and he did some rough estimates. It will be easier and less expensive to move. Plus we get to keep our nice neighbors and private backyard (and my daylillies!)

Today we took step one...wrote to our Home Owners association to get approval to build the addition. I sure hope they give it the ok as I've already started looking through pintrest at how other quilters set up their sewing spaces!

Have to include storage space for my antique quilts of course...

So those of you with quilting spaces of your own...what is the one thing you would say I have to include?

Saturday, January 24, 2015

The local quilt guild I belong to, Pieceful Hearts Quilters, has its biannual show November 6th and 7th, 2015.

I'm on three of the committees so in addition to getting my quilts finished I also helping with publicity, the show challenge, and the special exhibit.

Our postcards came in last week. The quilt on the cards won two ribbons in our last show! We leave these cards at local shops, other quilt shows this spring and fall, send to guilds around the southeast, and give to vendors who are going to vend at our show to distribute to their followers.

Part of the 2013 Bonnie Hunter inspired quilt exhibit

Our show challenge will not be announced until our February meeting...it just may be a challenge that will please everyone! (members of our guild range from traditional, through Modern to art quilters!) Now that would be something....stay tuned!

2013 show....

The special exhibit will be "Guild Inspired Projects" or Gips for short (as in "finish one for the gipper..." (groan...) Ok, one of the goals of the show is to inspire more quilters or quilter wannabees to join. So we have a special badge to hang on any entry that was inspired by a guild program, workshop, block of the month, or mystery quilt.

Monday, January 12, 2015

I put together one row of my Ocean Waves quilt and laid that row on the king size bed. The good news - it looks nice. (even with Goldie on it...) The bad news - not long enough. So now I need to make 19 more blocks which adds up to lots of hst's...lots!

I'm glad I check though. I was unhappy with how my Bermuda Seaglass quilt looked on the bed.

I think we have an extra tall/thick mattress...that or I just like quilts to hang down further on the sides than what the quilt books do!

So I pulled out some more bits from the scrap piles...amazing how old some of these are! Have to admit it is hard to use up the last little bit of some of these.

Fun shirtings are difficult to find in my area and my stash of these is getting very small...I remember a few years ago I could run up to Mary Jo's in Gastonia and they had an entire row of shirtings...no more!

Friday, January 09, 2015

I think my blood has gotten thin living down here in Georgia. I don't handle the cold very well anymore! This morning it was so cold Watson didn't even complain when I put his jacket on before our walk!

So I am spending a lot of time sewing and sorting "stuff." These random blocks have made it back onto the design wall...they are 9 inches by 17 inches...

I've passed the halfway point on the Ocean Waves quilt. Much to my surprise when I was sorting in the sewing room I found a small bag filled with half square triangles that I had made years ago for this quilt! Good timing on that find...it is enough for at least 6 blocks!

Part of the sorting is due to our house hunting...which has not gone well. Either we like the house or the location. So far never both! On the up side it is making us appreciate our house more. So the newest plan is to get an estimate on a small addition to my sewing room...we just need about 10 more feet out (the room is 16 feet wide.) I feel as if I'm living in an episode of "Love it or List it." Only we don't have the really cool designer to help!

On a serious note...my heart goes out to the French people. I've had the news on non-stop today.

About Me

AQS certified Quilt Appraiser and lecturer. For over 25 years I have been collecting quilts and making my interpretation of them. I'll try any type of handwork from applique through red-work to piecing.